So Why Stick to the Six?

[infernalservice]

My favorite guitars to play are my PRS stuff. I used to be all about flat necks, big frets, and floyd style bridges, so 7's seem like a natural fit. Now I am sitting here with a bunch of guitars with bigger necks, smaller fret wire, and 10 in radii. Things change...

 

[Adeamus]

It's classic. Trends may come and go against the 7 and 8 string, but the 6 won't ever change.


I've got 7 and 8's, but I just keep them around for fun and they are cheaper guitars. I only go above the 1k mark on my sixes.

 

[Robby the Robot]

I was joking, guys. In all seriousness though for the varying styles of music I play a seven isn't needed right now.

 

[Modest]

I grew up playing metal and blues with a Drop tuned RG 6er since i was 12, and the only other guitar i played was a slim body Ibby 6er for 2 years.. well im now 21, and a
Few months back, I worked my ass off to get a 7....

I hit up ebay and the first thing within 850$ was a s7420.

Pretty much the same damn things i grew up with!!!
sooo...
Adjusting was painless, and I could still play every song i had previously done with a six string. (My' bands set stayed the same

That 1 extra damn string has made such a difference in what write and play, and never fucked with anything i knew before.
Not too mention, a lot of my favored bands write with 7's, learning songs by them is super convenient.
The Oversized balls in the sound makes my hair stand at practices.... that alone is worth 850$
(something a 6 would to struggle to achieve)

That's why im never going back...
I think i was just destined for it because of how i learned.
I also Focus more on rhythm naturally making low end range appealing.
Brutal metal gives me a rush, 7 string beef has made my metal more brutal.

All depends on what you prefer to play in the end.
Bashing on a instrument is childish..
the time it takes to talk down a instrument could have been better spent practicing yours.

 

[heregoesnothing]

 

[Nag]

There's tons of things you actually can do on a 6 but not on a 7.

For example, some people get a 7-string just for that low B, and others just get a 6 and tune it down to B. On a 6, you can play your usual major/minor barred chords and they will sound lower, on a 7-string they'll sound like standard tuning (cause that's what they are in). chord shapes and arpeggio shapes change on a 7-string (still talking from the B string) so since most people learnt all their stuff on a 6, it's more convenient to stay on a 6 and to tune it down.

Also, for a whole lot of the 7-string world, the seventh string is just there to chug a low B5 chord. doing that on a 6-string is cheaper.

I'm mainly a 6-string player, but I got myself a 7 to experiment on, and I will get an 8 for the same purpose. But I still don't really NEED more than 6 strings at once. The only thing I reckon using the 7th string for is to have my 6 strings tuned standard with all my arpeggio and scale shapes for soloing, and still have a dropped string below for nice rhythm play.

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

Since my op in this thread Ive gone through a nice variety of 6's amd decided they just arent for me. They feel wrong/toyish.

 

[kris_jammage]

It doesnt matter to me how many strings a guitar has as long as I like it and it plays and sounds good. I would usually sit down to play guitar and start with a 7 string, then after a while maybe pick up a 6 string. Different tunings, set ups, feel and tone.

My 8 string will be arriving soon and that just adds more options for me but doesnt mean I will never pick up a 6 string again.

I LOVE GUITARS!

 

[Lagtastic]

I move quite a bit between thumb behind the lower half of the neck, and thumb over neck old school grip style, depending on what I am doing. 90% classical grip, 10% thumb over. 7s are fine, but on 8 necks it's just not comfortable for that.

I use the tremolo, way too much. I like a loose floating trem, and on a 7 it's much more stiff.

Lower tuned stuff is fun and all, but I usually stay in D Standard or higher. I've got 2 7s, one for B Std and one in Drop Ab when I want to play downtuned stuff for fun, but I always go right back to a 6.

 

[Konfyouzd]

because i can't even fully utilize a 6 string yet so i'd make even more of a fool of myself by playing a 7 or 8 string

I don't even know what this means. Intervals, sir. Intervals.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Since my op in this thread Ive gone through a nice variety of 6's amd decided they just arent for me. They feel wrong/toyish.

I didn't think so until I started learning to sweep.across more than 6 strings. But now I kind of agree. But if that's the only thing available I won't complain.

 

[will_shred]

"Six is enough, and eight is enough too. Whatever you want. Four can be enough. One can be enough, if you’ve got the imagination for it."
-Steve Vai

It's possible that I don't belong in this thread, because I only use my 6's in my grunge band (my Eastman T-184), and when I want to play something in a tuning higher than B(any of my 3 other 6's...). Other than that everything I write is on a 7.

 

[Winspear]

For example, some people get a 7-string just for that low B, and others just get a 6 and tune it down to B. On a 6, you can play your usual major/minor barred chords and they will sound lower, on a 7-string they'll sound like standard tuning (cause that's what they are in). chord shapes and arpeggio shapes change on a 7-string (still talking from the B string) so since most people learnt all their stuff on a 6, it's more convenient to stay on a 6 and to tune it down.

It's an interesting mindset change. Try tuning the G string down to F#, then you end up with a B tuned 6 with a high E.

 

[Mprinsje]

i just like the feel of my 6's more than my 7.

i do still play it occasionally, but all my bands have more use for 6 strings. I also feel like i am very limited with what i can do on a 7, very strange...

 

[Kodee_Kaos]

5 fingers + 1 thumb = 6.

If I was some mutant with like 8 fingers, I'd play a 9 string. But unfortunately, this is not the case.

 

[BLACKFOX86]

Interesting thread. When I bought my 7 string a couple of years ago or so I thought ´wow, this is great, the ultimate guitar. I will NEVER play a 6 string again.´ But I was wrong! When I started to listen to more 6-string guitarists like Guthrie and Satriani I discovered that the sound and feel of a 6 string was still important. I also ´think´different when I play my 6 string. I use more of what I have than just playing the low B. Not that I only play the B string but I tend to focus more on the lower notes. I see the 6 string, 7 string and 8 string as different instruments. They are all good guitars and still has their own uniqueness that makes them different and useful for different things. On a 6 string you have that extra freedom that ´can´ (not will, but CAN) make it easier and more comfortable to play than a 7 or 8 for some people. I never really got to like the 8 string sound. It's cool but not for me. I'm more like a 7 and 6 string guy. So it's also about how much low end you really need.

 

[Winspear]

5 fingers + 1 thumb = 6.

 

[bradthelegend]

I play other people's songs more often than my own, and most of them don't use sevenstrings.

I have 4 sixes for different tunings, and I've thinned the heard down to just one 7.

 

[Andromalia]

I play sixes...because I have them. If I was to start fresh maybe I wouldn't own any but this isn't really the case.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Interesting thread. When I bought my 7 string a couple of years ago or so I thought ´wow, this is great, the ultimate guitar. I will NEVER play a 6 string again.´ But I was wrong! When I started to listen to more 6-string guitarists like Guthrie and Satriani I discovered that the sound and feel of a 6 string was still important. I also ´think´different when I play my 6 string. I use more of what I have than just playing the low B. Not that I only play the B string but I tend to focus more on the lower notes. I see the 6 string, 7 string and 8 string as different instruments. They are all good guitars and still has their own uniqueness that makes them different and useful for different things. On a 6 string you have that extra freedom that ´can´ (not will, but CAN) make it easier and more comfortable to play than a 7 or 8 for some people. I never really got to like the 8 string sound. It's cool but not for me. I'm more like a 7 and 6 string guy. So it's also about how much low end you really need.

Interesting thought. I tend to view them all the same and some just aren't necessary depending on your application. Most of the time ppl spend a lot of time staring at my 7s or 8s wondering why they look so different but sound just like a "regular guitar" when I play. I use the lower range but I guess some folks don't really notice at first.